Pope Francis waves to the crowd during the World Youth Day celebration in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil held on July 28.

Written by

Sister Mary Ann Walsh

In his first year in office, Pope Francis has shown he knows how to lead. While people in our political systems demonize one another and grind government to a halt, Pope Francis reaches across the table. No one is unapproachable. No one is an enemy.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, president of Argentina, went head-to-head with him when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, but she was one of the first visitors he welcomed to the Vatican after his election. For him, no one is all bad or all good. He doesn't enshrine polarization.